English Still Wines
Woodchester Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Oodles of gooseberry, gorse, crisp green apples, lemon and lime, and white pepper
Sauvignon Blanc is rare to find in the vineyards of England and Wales and Woodchester Valley are one of the few vineyards producing a single varietal, limited edition Sauvignon Blanc only made in special years. Made with grapes harvested from just 2000 vines planted on their steepest vineyard field called Westrip at Stonehouse, the fruit benefits from the increased intensity of the sun on the precipitous slopes. The Westrip vineyard has proved its potential to produce world class wines since its silver medal winning first release in 2017. This was followed by the 2018 vintage being awarded two ground breaking International Gold Medals in the IWSC (96 points) and Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters. There was even greater acclaim for the 2021 vintage, which was awarded the highest score and the highest award in the unoaked category of the Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters. In very good company and beating off contenders from around the world, it was the first English still wine to be awarded a Master in this competition judged blind by Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers – a pioneering first for an English Sauvignon Blanc. The 2023 vintage is thought by many in the trade to be even better!
Woodchester Valley is a family owned boutique vineyard and winery in the South Cotswolds. They have three vineyard sites in the Stroud valleys which produce a range of still white, rose and sparkling wines. They are located in Amberley, Woodchester and Doverow Hill (Stonehouse), with a total of 45 acres under vine. Woodchester Valley was established in 2007 when a single acre was planted on their Amberley site to assess the suitability of the land for growing vines. The three sites have different soil profiles although are all predominantly limestone. The Woodchester and Amberley sites are typical of Cotswold brash – shallow soils with a high stone content overlying Oolitic limestone, particularly favourable for their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines. These soils are very free-draining. Their Stonehouse site has a higher clay content and deeper soils well-suited for their Bacchus vines.
